Earl Haig grad stages play at Alumnae Theatre

Earl Haig grad stages play at Alumnae Theatre. Matthew Shachar, Michelle Yagi, Stevie Joffe, Sebastien Heins, Auston Clark, and Tanya Mok appear in the play, 'Running Water'. Photo/MALIKO PECK

Calling their partnership MCM Productions, two of the three have now left to pursue other projects, leaving last man standing Colin Mercer who renamed the company Firebrand Theatre.

"We figured we shouldn't expect someone to hand us jobs, so we thought we should just go and do it," Mercer said of starting their own company. "It was almost on a whim."

After two successful productions last summer and in 2008, Mercer will bring his newest play, Running Water, to fruition from Wednesday, Aug. 11 to Saturday, Aug. 14 at the Alumnae Theatre, 70 Berkeley St. All shows start at 7:30 p.m.

Written, produced and directed by the 19-year-old East York resident, Running Water centres around Coral Agora's time spent in a group home.

A mixture of comedy and touching moments tackling tough issues, the 90-minute play is told from Coral's point of view along with the perception of Coral, who has autism, from the other group home residents.

Mercer decided to write a play centred on a group home after researching cases of abuse that have taken place in those facilities, he said.

"I wanted to create a reality world where (Coral) is slow and can't remember things properly," Mercer said of the play. "And then there's the world inside Coral's mind, where everything for her is normal. She can process properly but can't react. Coral is a charming, passionate character."

Mercer, a graduate of Earl Haig Secondary School and current student at the National Theatre School of Canada in Montreal, said everyone involved in the production is there voluntarily.

"We are doing this because we love theatre so much," he said.

Tickets for Running Water cost $15 for adults and $10 for students. For information, call 647-899-7050.